Josh Oppenheimer: A Country Where the Killers Have Won

Media

Why does extreme violence happen and what do the perpetrators really think of themselves? Director Joshua Oppenheimer asks just that in his new documentary film, The Act of Killing, executive produced by Werner Herzog and Errol Morris. The movie follows Anwar Congo and his fellow Indonesian para-militaries as they recreate their country’s 1965-1966 mass murders. The catch – they are the mass-murderers! What does it mean to live in a country where impunity rules, a country where the killers have won? We already know. We, in the US, live in one! Oppenheimer tells Laura Flanders in this thought-provoking discussion on GRITtv. “Every object touching my body right now, every article of clothing is haunted by the suffering of the people who make it for us. And all of them, without exception are working in places where there have been mass political violence, where perpetrators have won,” says Oppenheimer. “People often see the film often ask what we can do? The first thing we have to remember is that the 1965 genocide; the Suharto dictatorship that followed; the regime in which gangsters could be used by corporations as well a politicians to break strikes to seize land; and the horrifying moral universe you see in The Act of Killing, that is the West’s vision for Indonesia,” he says. The US may not have been the driver, but it played - and continues to play a leading role in permitting the killers to rule. This interview is part of GRITtv's "Got Docs" series, a five year commitment to platforming important documentaries. To see more please follow the links provided.

This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.

Best-selling author and broadcaster Laura Flanders interviews forward thinking people from the worlds of politics, business, culture and social movements on her internationally syndicated TV program, "The Laura Flanders Show." It airs weekly on KCET/LinkTV, FreeSpeech TV, and in English and Spanish in teleSUR. Flanders is also a contributing writer to The Nation and YES! Magazine ("Commonomics") and a regular guest on MSNBC. She is the author of six books, including The New York Times best-seller, BUSHWOMEN: Tales of a Cynical Species (Verso, 2004) and Blue GRIT: True Democrats Take Back Politics from the Politicians (Penguin Press, 2007). "The Laura Flanders Show" first aired on Air America Radio from 2004 to 2008. You can find all her archives and more at Lauraflanders.com or via Twitter @GRITlaura.

Josh Oppenheimer: A Country Where the Killers Have Won

Media

Why does extreme violence happen and what do the perpetrators really think of themselves? Director Joshua Oppenheimer asks just that in his new documentary film, The Act of Killing, executive produced by Werner Herzog and Errol Morris. The movie follows Anwar Congo and his fellow Indonesian para-militaries as they recreate their country’s 1965-1966 mass murders. The catch – they are the mass-murderers! What does it mean to live in a country where impunity rules, a country where the killers have won? We already know. We, in the US, live in one! Oppenheimer tells Laura Flanders in this thought-provoking discussion on GRITtv. “Every object touching my body right now, every article of clothing is haunted by the suffering of the people who make it for us. And all of them, without exception are working in places where there have been mass political violence, where perpetrators have won,” says Oppenheimer. “People often see the film often ask what we can do? The first thing we have to remember is that the 1965 genocide; the Suharto dictatorship that followed; the regime in which gangsters could be used by corporations as well a politicians to break strikes to seize land; and the horrifying moral universe you see in The Act of Killing, that is the West’s vision for Indonesia,” he says. The US may not have been the driver, but it played - and continues to play a leading role in permitting the killers to rule. This interview is part of GRITtv's "Got Docs" series, a five year commitment to platforming important documentaries. To see more please follow the links provided.

This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.

Best-selling author and broadcaster Laura Flanders interviews forward thinking people from the worlds of politics, business, culture and social movements on her internationally syndicated TV program, "The Laura Flanders Show." It airs weekly on KCET/LinkTV, FreeSpeech TV, and in English and Spanish in teleSUR. Flanders is also a contributing writer to The Nation and YES! Magazine ("Commonomics") and a regular guest on MSNBC. She is the author of six books, including The New York Times best-seller, BUSHWOMEN: Tales of a Cynical Species (Verso, 2004) and Blue GRIT: True Democrats Take Back Politics from the Politicians (Penguin Press, 2007). "The Laura Flanders Show" first aired on Air America Radio from 2004 to 2008. You can find all her archives and more at Lauraflanders.com or via Twitter @GRITlaura.